


Interlude: Grandpa

by moonlight_petal



Series: We are family verse [7]
Category: MacGyver (TV 2016)
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Gen, Grandpa Jack, Kid Fic, Mac is tired, Parent Problems, Team as Family, day out with David, great-grandpa Dalton, helpful people, teething troubles suck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-07 23:36:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18883591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlight_petal/pseuds/moonlight_petal
Summary: Jack and David enjoy a little one on one time on their day out.





	Interlude: Grandpa

**Author's Note:**

> Well this got a little longer than I planned it to be actually.  
> I had this very distict image in my head of Jack helping David with walking and somehow that turned into *this*.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. A little fluff on a Sunday afternoon (at least it's for me still).
> 
> Oh btw I'm no mother myself (yet), most things I read up on or observed with the niece and nephew of my friend so there's probably some development jumps here.
> 
> And another thing, I do have at least ideas for two more parts but I'm curious if there is anything my readers here would like to see in this verse.

** Interlude: Grandpa **

****

Mac was rubbing his forehead in deep thought when Jack entered the younger man's lab to the soundtrack of building blocks being knocked around somewhat angrily.

 

"Everything alright, kid?" he asked with a slight frown, taking in the shadows under Mac's eyes and the tense lines around them.

They hadn't had a mission for a couple of days and Mac had spent most of that time in the lab working on whatever it was he was currently building. It surely would become a vital piece of equipment for the Phoenix agents once it was finished, Jack had no doubt about that. When Mac put his mind to something like that, there was a good reason for it. And let's not forget the whole Oversight/Mac's father revelation. Mac might try to deny it but Jack knew full well that this situation was still eating on him.

 

"Oh hey, Jack..." the blond looked up and the surprised glint in his eyes set Jack a little on edge. It wasn't like Mac not to notice someone coming in, his attention usually was only rivalled by Jack's own. The older had personally trained it into him after all. "Sorry, was just... kind of lost in thought..."

 

"Yeah... I can see that... what's up partner? Is this project giving you trouble?" he asked, stepping closer to David's play area, curious as to what the little one was up to as well.

 

"Yeah... something like that... it's a little difficult to focus at the moment..." Mac joined Jack at the fence they had built around the area. "We've had a couple of rough nights... I think there are more teeth coming in at the moment and being cooped up in here apparently isn't to his liking either... I'm kinda exhausted and he's cranky... so, yeah... fun times..." Mac sighed softly, watching his son. He didn't blame David, he never would, the little one was in pain, Mac understood that well enough, the lack of sleep was getting to him anyway.

 

Jack had listened carefully, in fact he had already expected something like that. The redness high on David's cheeks generally were a dead giveaway that his teeth were giving him trouble.

Gently he placed a hand in the middle of Mac's back, letting the warmth seep into the tight muscles there.

 

"Hell kid, why didn't you say anything sooner, eh? We're family after all!" Jack murmured.

 

"Yeah I know, I've been thinking about that and Bozer already tried to help as well but he's kind of swamped with work at the lab as well and not getting a lot of sleep either. And Riley and you have been on back to back missions for a while, I figured you deserve a few days off. And it's not like it's the first time we're doing this... give it a few more days and everything will go back to normal again, don't worry about it..." Mac tried to explain although the waver in his voice tipped Jack off that the blond either didn't believe his own words or he realised the stupidity of his arguments already while making them.

 

"Yeah no, kid, that's not how this works. And back to back missions are one thing but taking care of the little munchkin is no work for me, Mac. I thought you knew that. I'd gladly take him for a day so you can catch a decent nap and get some work done if that's what you need. And boy, you look like you need it desperately. As does the little one for that matter. Point is, work aside, we're in this together, I promised you that and I intend to keep that promise."

 

With those words Jack leaned inside the play area, gently took the blocks from David's little hands and picked him up.

"Come to grandpa, munchkin. You don't like being stuck in the lab, I hear, so let's get you out of here." he grinned at the baby fondly who still looked pretty cranky but at least somewhat calmer now in Jack's arms. The older turned to Mac.

 

"I don't have anything time-sensitive on my table at the moment, I'll take David off your hands for now. How about you go, take a nap now and we'll see you at home tonight. Sounds like a plan?" Jack asked not that he expected or would accept disagreement. Instead he pulled David's bag from the corner with his free hand.

 

"What do you have in mind?" Mac asked instead, watching him gratefully. He trusted Jack fully with David.

 

"Oh not sure just yet, maybe we'll go on a little drive, huh munchkin? Does that sound like fun to you? A bit of fresh air, a change of scenery... something like that." he winked at the blond.

 

"Alright... well, he's due some food in about an hour if he let's you feed him, he's not exactly in favour of eating at the moment which doesn't help the crankiness any... I changed him a little while ago so you should be good on that front for a while yeah... and if anything else comes up..." Mac started rattling off everything he thought would be important, not noticing Jack's widening grin until the older man clapped a hand on Mac's shoulder.

 

"Then I'll call you. I got this, kid! It's not the first time I'm doing this, remember? I do have to say, you really start to sound like a proper helicopter parent though... joking aside, I'll manage, you'll see. You just worry about yourself for a little while, okay? Leave David to me!" Jack ruffled Mac's hair gently what resulted in an indignant huff.

 

The blond however didn't even try to refute the helicopter parent comment which told Jack above all else how tired Mac really was.

"Yeah alright..." Mac agreed softly, kissing the top of David's head. "Be good for your grandpa, alright? I'll see you two tonight then!"

 

~*~

 

Like he said he would do, Jack quickly strapped David in his car seat (it had been about one of the first things Jack had added to his own car only days after David came into their lives much to the amusement of his family) and took the little man for a drive.

 

The sky was relatively overcast that day and Jack would have liked it more if it had been properly sunny but it was warm enough. And as cranky as David might have been, for one getting out of the lab and having the full attention of someone had already helped some and only a little while into the drive the boy lost the fight with his own exhaustion, falling asleep to the soft rumbling of the car and the music on the radio that Jack had turned on silently in the background.

 

Jack drove around LA, fully enjoying the time out of headquarters himself. David's nap lasted a little over an hour before the baby woke up whining and crying, obviously hungry just like Mac had told him he would be.

 

There was a park in the neighbourhood Jack had been at that time, so he made quick work finding a bench where he pulled out a box of food for David. Hand-made, from scratch by uncle Bozer because their friend apparently would rather break his own fingers than let David eat store-bought babyfood. Mac didn't complain, choosing his battles wisely and they all knew Bozer had fun with cooking, it was his way to wind down from work after all. And Jack had to admit, what Bozer made looked and tasted a lot better than anything he saw at the grocery store, even with the expensive stuff, so he wouldn't complain either. And David? He didn't really care either way, Jack suspected as long as he got something to eat.

 

Which was a bit of a fight that day and the older man was glad he made sure to tie a small towel around the baby and drape another one over himself because, again, Mac had been right about his son. David obviously was hungry but Jack supposed that the food was bothering his sensitive gums or something because the little one looked like he was in pain with every spoon he tried to feed him and most of the food ended up everywhere *but* David's mouth.

 

"Alright, munchkin, that's not working, is it? Poor little angel..." Jack finally gave up, packed up the box and quickly started rocking the whimpering baby back and forth. The huge tears rolling down his cheeks literally breaking Jack's heart.

 

"Teething trouble?" suddenly a friendly sounding voice sounded from behind Jack and seriously, he had no right berating Mac for being distracted when Jack's finely honed senses didn't pick up on someone approaching when David was around.

 

The voice belonged to a friendly looking woman, probably a little older than Jack himself.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, I was just passing by and noticed your struggle..."

 

Jack shook his head.

"No need, sorry if we were disturbing you or something..."

 

"Never apologize for something like that, this is an open space and your little one there can't help it, if anyone doesn't like it, they should get lost themselves. So, the question remains, you guys having teething trouble?"

The woman stepped a little closer, watching the blond little boy with a fond expression on her face.

 

David had been startled silent by the appearance of the strange woman, burying his head against Jack's chest.

 

"I'm afraid so, yeah..." the older man nodded.

 

"Try something cold and smooth... it might not be the healthiest thing around but a little ice-cream won't hurt. The cold will help with the soreness a little and he'll have something in his tummy at least. From experience I learned that generally refrigerated stuff goes over better in these cases. Honestly when my own kids had these troubles, they basically lived on cooled down pieces of cucumber and melons and stuff for a few days, no harm in that really. As I said the cold helps and nibbling on the pieces kind of quickens the process some. It still sucks big time though, no use denying it." she smiled warmly.

 

Jack listened attentively. He actually should have known that already but it made a lot of sense now.

"Thanks a lot of the advice, I think the little munchkin will be very grateful for that. I'll try that then." he smiled back.

 

"You do that, I'm sure he'll appreciate it. Good luck and have a nice day!" the woman nodded and went along her way.

 

Jack was surprised, it wasn't often that you experienced something like that in LA.

 

"Alright, David, let's get you some ice-cream then, eh? We'll see about the veggies back home later." he quickly packed up their stuff and then went along the path through the park. He wasn't surprised at all to find an ice-cream cart not too far away. And to both their relief, the small cup with yoghurt ice-cream did go down pretty well with David.

 

~*~

 

Back in the car a little later, Jack had an idea for their next destination. David quickly dozed off again, happily fed for now. And luckily for Jack he also wasn't too cranky when he gently woke him up a little while later again.

 

Together they walked along the well groomed path until David started to squirm in Jack's arms, demanding to be let down. He had started to walk -or more like wobble- short distances now and practiced that again and again whenever he could. Carefully Jack set the boy on his feet but kept a hold on David's hands. Soon, after finding his balance on his feet, David curled his small hands around one of Jack's fingers each and slowly started to walk.

 

The position was hell on Jack's back really but the man wouldn't want to miss this for his life. It was really slow going but they had time, nobody around who would run away after all.

 

David kept that up for a little bit until he ran out of energy. That was Jack's cue to pull the little man up, throwing him up in the air, accompanied by a happy shriek, and then settle him on his shoulders, giving David the complete overview of the place. Like that, he walked the rest of the distance to his destination.

 

"Hey Pop... sorry, it's been a while, hasn't it?" Jack said softly, touching the headstone in front of him gently, settling in the grass with David between his legs. "We've been busy, you see? I told you about David last time, right? So I thought I'll introduce him properly today." he added.

 

"Hey munchkin, say hi to you great-grandpa, huh?" Jack addressed the baby who just looked at him with wide eyes, babbling nonsensically under his breath. The older man chuckled. "Yeah, that's right... you're your father's son alright... I guess I'll try that again when you're a little older. But you know, your great-grandpa is kind of the reason I even know you daddy. My dad was an awesome man and soldier and I admired him a lot, even if we didn't always see eye to eye. Point is, he was my inspiration to enlist in the Army and that's where I met your daddy." Jack explained softly to the little boy. Not that he understood a lot of that.

 

"Anyway, pop, we've been good just busy... Riley and I've been away quite a lot but don't worry, nothing too dangerous. Those missions are for other agents now most of the time. I'm sure you're glad to hear that, eh? That's family for you, I guess. Since David came along, we all changed a lot, looking differently at the everyday life and it's a good thing. Mac's good and he's an even better father even if the kid, as always, tends to doubt himself. But really, who can blame him with the sorry excuse of a father he had when growing up himself and I'm proud like nothing else how he handled it when the guy suddenly turned up at his door. The nerve, I tell you."

 

Jack sighed softly, trailing his fingertips through the blond tufts of hair on David's head. After crawling around the patch of grass in front of the headstone, he had now settled down against Jack's chest. As far as the man could see, the boy wasn't sleeping yet, just basking in the warmth and comfort his grandfather provided him with.

 

"The kid deserved a lot better than that and I'm trying, I really do but sometimes I think, it's just not the same, pop. Not that Mac's complaining or anything, it's just something I'm sensing. The same with work... Mac's amazing and he found a way that works but I know he misses going out in the field himself. He won't if not absolutely necessary, I know that, the danger of something happening to him is just too great but that doesn't change the fact that he misses it. And I'm wondering how I can help him with that... there's not really anything I *can* do, is there pop? It's kind of hard... anyway, I do help with what I can, which is actually why we're here today because the little guy has been a little cranky recently and Mac was in dire need of a nap. Really with each passing day my respect for you and ma grows. Handling me and the others *and* the ranch and everything in between? You guys seriously were and still are rockstars! No doubt about that!" Jack rambled on. When he talks to his father about especially close call missions aside, Jack tended to just talk about anything and everything. Most of the time it helped him with sorting through his own thoughts and more often than not it was about Mac or Riley or both. He knew he wasn't their father, he wasn't actually old enough to really be in the first place and yet he tried to at least provide them with a father figure when they needed it. And in the rare moments Jack talked to his father like this, he actually admitted that he doubted his own abilities with that quite regularly.

 

"Ah... well, I guess I should talk to Mac about all this at some point but not at the moment, the kid really has enough on his plate, no need bringing up something we can't really do anything about anyway. Speaking of which... there is something we really *should* do something about..." Jack looked down on the sleepy boy. "You, my friend, smell kinda rank... let's get you home and into a fresh diaper, huh? I think you'd like that a lot and then we'll try the thing with the food again, alright? You need to eat, kiddo, can't let you grow up into such a skinny guy like your dad, now can I? I think that nice lady from before had a couple of good ideas, so we'll try that. Come on..."

 

Slowly and carefully Jack got to his feet with the baby in his arms.

"We'll get going then, pop... thanks for listening as always. I'll come by again soon, I promise. Love you, pop!" he spoke softly, touching his fist against his lips and then the headstone in the way of a good-bye.

 

~*~

 

When Mac and Bozer returned home that evening, it was to Jack lying on the couch, an extremely colourful kids show playing silently on TV with David stretched out on top of him, sound asleep and still softly suckling on a piece of cucumber.

 

Jack had been dozing himself, opened up his eyes the moment the door opened though.

 

"Would you look at that, you look a lot better than earlier today, kid..." he grinned softly at the sight of Mac.

 

"Yeah, a little sleep certainly goes a long way. Everything went alright?" Mac leaned over the back of the couch, raising a questioning eyebrow at the picture of his son.

 

"Perfectly... we got fresh air, he napped quite a bit, indulged in ice-cream and cucumbers and he met his great-grandpa... he fell asleep again about half and hour ago." the older said.

 

"You took him to the cemetary?" Mac asked, not entirely sure what to think about that.

 

"Sure, about time pop got to meet him, god knows I told him enough stories about David already. He even got a good piece of exercise in since he insisted on walking part of the way himself. I suppose that's what tired him out this much actually. We met a nice lady at the park as well who had actually really good ideas about his teething and food problem, hence the ice-cream and cucumber. That's like magic, Mac!" he nodded, quickly telling him what exactly the woman at the park had said.

 

Bozer, a few feet back, (after taking a picture of the scene for Riley) listenend carefully and already starting a shopping list in his head.

 

"Thanks Jack! You really did me a favour today!" Mac finally said softly.

 

"Ah don't mention it, bud. We had fun. Next time don't wait so long to open your mouth, alright? Family, remember?"

 

"You tell him, I've been telling him for days already!" Bozer called from the kitchen.

 

"Yeah fine, fine, I get it!" the blond sighed, gently picking up David. "Alright, let's get this one into bed now..."

 

The little boy only snuffled softly, scrunching up his nose when he lost contact with Jack but quickly settling down again in Mac's arms.


End file.
